--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's important to teach students about…" description: "\"It's important to teach students about the reality of the system, that it is in fact the case that they are being targeted unfairly, that the rules hav..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0e/michelle-alexander-750_backlash_it-s-important-to-teach-students-about-t_448182.jpg" --- # It's important to teach students about the reality of the… ![“It's important to teach students about the reality of the system, that it is in fact the case that they are being targeted unfairly, that the rules have been set up in a way that authorize unfair treatment of them, and how difficult it is to challenge these laws in the courts. We need to teach…” quote by Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0e/michelle-alexander-750_backlash_it-s-important-to-teach-students-about-t_448182.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0e/michelle-alexander-750_backlash_it-s-important-to-teach-students-about-t_448182.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0e/michelle-alexander-750_backlash_it-s-important-to-teach-students-about-t_448182.jpg) > “It's important to teach students about the reality of the system, that it is in fact the case that they are being targeted unfairly, that the rules have been set up in a way that authorize unfair treatment of them, and how difficult it is to challenge these laws in the courts. We need to teach them how our politics have changed in recent years, how there has been, in fact, a backlash. But we need to couple that information with stories of how people in the past have challenged these kinds of injustices, and the role that youth have played historically in those struggles.” [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Students should learn both systemic injustice and historical youth activism to understand and challenge unfair laws. **In simple terms:** Teach about unfair systems and past youth resistance. Key Takeaway Combine knowledge with empowering stories. Themes education justice activism history Mood inspirational urgent Type educational motivational When to use this quote - classroom lessons - community workshops - policy debates Key Concepts systemic bias civic engagement Questions to Reflect On - How can educators balance facts and inspiration? - What role should youth play today? A Different Perspective Stories may oversimplify complex legal realities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Backlash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/backlash/) [Cases](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cases/) [Challenges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/challenges/) [Changed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/changed/) [Couple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/couple/) [Court](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/court/) [Difficult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difficult/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [Important](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/important/) [Important Teach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/important-teach-271650/) [Information](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/information/) [Injustice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/injustice/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Kinds Injustices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kinds-injustices-3917206/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People from the past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-from-the-past/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Roles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/roles/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggle/) [Students](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/students/) [Students Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/students-reality-3917205/) [Teach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teach/) [Teach Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teach-politics-3917204/) [Teach Students](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teach-students/) [Treatment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/treatment/) [Unfair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unfair/) [Unfair treatment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unfair-treatment/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) [Youth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/youth/) ## Related quotes > [College has become unaffordable for most of the kids who attend, and, while most of the population won't ever graduate from college, our high…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-stone/college-has-become-unaffordable-for-most-of-the-kids-who-attend-and/) [James Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-stone/) > [I ask you to uphold the values of America and remember why so many have come here. We're in a fight for our principles,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/i-ask-you-to-uphold-the-values-of-america-and-remember-why-so-many/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [I mean, the unfair treatment of women and black people and Indians and other groups, that's real. Mistreatment of other people because 'I'm better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-leo/i-mean-the-unfair-treatment-of-women-and-black-people-and-indians-and/) [Melissa Leo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-leo/) > [“A person who treats someone unfairly may start to show a tendency to be unfair to other people, or he may regret what he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/a-person-who-treats-someone-unfairly-may-start-to-show-a-tendency-to/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“The Dark Cloud Is the extreme caution that women must have in order to survive Is the unfair treatment that the disadvantaged have and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aida-mandic/the-dark-cloud-is-the-extreme-caution-that-women-must-have-in-order/) [Aida Mandic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aida-mandic/) > [As long as the number one worry for people, keeping them up at nights, is whether they're going to have a job in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-o-grady/as-long-as-the-number-one-worry-for-people-keeping-them-up-at-nights/) [Frances O'Grady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-o-grady/) > [Texas governor Rick Perry's wife, Anita, has come out slugging in her glittering leopard-print jacket against what she sees as the unfair treatment of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-davis/texas-governor-rick-perry-s-wife-anita-has-come-out-slugging-in-her/) [Patti Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-davis/) > [“For GOD is pleased with you, when you do what is right and patiently ENDURE unfair treatment.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-god-is-pleased-with-you-when-you-do-what-is-right-and-patiently/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Today's decision affirms what we all know to be true — the U.S. Constitution guarantees the basic civil rights of all Americans, not just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-griffin/today-s-decision-affirms-what-we-all-know-to-be-true-the-u-s/) [Chad Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-griffin/) > [“Remember that you always have the right to be treated with respect, and to protest unfair treatment or criticism. It’s vital to reinforce those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-forward/remember-that-you-always-have-the-right-to-be-treated-with-respect/) [Susan Forward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-forward/) > [Diversity on the bench is critical. As practitioners, you need judges who 'get it!' We need judges who understand what discrimination feels like. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debbie-wasserman-schultz/diversity-on-the-bench-is-critical-as-practitioners-you-need-judges/) [Debbie Wasserman Schultz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debbie-wasserman-schultz/) > [“While appreciating its accomplishments, we must acknowledge that the legal end of segregation fell short of bringing African Americans to full equality. Joshua may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-seale/while-appreciating-its-accomplishments-we-must-acknowledge-that-the/) [Bobby Seale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-seale/) > [“But," you may ask, "how can we forget the unkind things that are said...the cruel and unfair treatment one has received? How can we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-marshall/but-you-may-ask-how-can-we-forget-the-unkind-things-that-are-said-the/) [Peter Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-marshall/) > [No one should be singled out for unfair treatment or unkind words because of their ethnic background or religious faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush-2/no-one-should-be-singled-out-for-unfair-treatment-or-unkind-words/) [George W Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush-2/) > [It's really important to teach people how to get food, how to grow it, how to pick it, how to prepare it and what's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-potts-dawson/it-s-really-important-to-teach-people-how-to-get-food-how-to-grow-it/) [Arthur Potts Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-potts-dawson/) ## More by Michelle Alexander > [If you ask for good schools, you aren't likely to get them. If you ask for jobs or economic investment, you won't get that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/if-you-ask-for-good-schools-you-aren-t-likely-to-get-them-if-you-ask/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [The uncomfortable reality we must face is that California, like the nation as a whole, has treated generations of African Americans and Latinos as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/the-uncomfortable-reality-we-must-face-is-that-california-like-the/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“Seeing race is not the problem. Refusing to care for the people we see is the problem. The fact that the meaning of race…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/seeing-race-is-not-the-problem-refusing-to-care-for-the-people-we-see/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [Since the nations founding, African Americans repeatedly have been controlled through institutions such as slavery and Jim Crow, which appear to die but then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/since-the-nations-founding-african-americans-repeatedly-have-been/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“Felon disenfranchisement laws have been more effective in eliminating black voters in the age of mass incarceration than they were under Jim Crow…These figures…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/felon-disenfranchisement-laws-have-been-more-effective-in-eliminating/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“That was King’s dream—a society that is capable of seeing each of us, as we are, with love. That is a goal worth fighting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/that-was-king-s-dream-a-society-that-is-capable-of-seeing-each-of-us/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [Activists take the risks, while advocates are professional tinkerers with the system. What's necessary is for those who are advocates to support those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/activists-take-the-risks-while-advocates-are-professional-tinkerers/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“Civil rights protests were frequently depicted as criminal rather than political in nature, and federal courts were accused of excessive “lenience” toward lawlessness, thereby…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/civil-rights-protests-were-frequently-depicted-as-criminal-rather/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [We cannot 'fix' the police without a revolution of values and radical change to the basic structure of our society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/we-cannot-fix-the-police-without-a-revolution-of-values-and-radical/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [If we continue to tell ourselves the popular myths about racial progress or, worse yet, if we say to ourselves that the problem of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/if-we-continue-to-tell-ourselves-the-popular-myths-about-racial/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [The mass incarceration of poor people of color, particularly black men, has emerged as a new caste system, one specifically designed to address the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/the-mass-incarceration-of-poor-people-of-color-particularly-black-men/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [ “\[T\]he slave went free; stood a brief moment in the sun; then moved back again toward slavery. —W.E.B Du Bois, Black Reconstruction in America… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/t-he-slave-went-free-stood-a-brief-moment-in-the-sun-then-moved-back/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [If you take into account prisoners, a large majority of African American men in some urban areas, like Chicago, have been labeled felons for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/if-you-take-into-account-prisoners-a-large-majority-of-african/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“A new civil rights movement cannot be organized around the relics of the earlier system of control if it is to address meaningfully the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/a-new-civil-rights-movement-cannot-be-organized-around-the-relics-of/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [The rules and reasons the political system employs to enforce status relations of any kind, including racial hierarchy, evolve and change as they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/the-rules-and-reasons-the-political-system-employs-to-enforce-status/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) [Explore all 381 Michelle Alexander quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) ## More Backlash quotes > [I tend to get reactions just by being on screen, because I guess I'm physically queer-coded or something. Especially with 'Star Wars;' I get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katy-o-brian/i-tend-to-get-reactions-just-by-being-on-screen-because-i-guess-i-m/) [Katy O'Brian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katy-o-brian/) > [I'm the one who will take chances, not worry about the backlash.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/magic-johnson/i-m-the-one-who-will-take-chances-not-worry-about-the-backlash/) [Magic Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/magic-johnson/) > [Yes, I do realize that men in sports media also face criticism and backlash, but the vitriol that is directed at women, especially women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jemele-hill/yes-i-do-realize-that-men-in-sports-media-also-face-criticism-and/) [Jemele Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jemele-hill/) > [You can be the outcast or be the backlash of somebody's lack of love. Or you can start speaking up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-bareilles/you-can-be-the-outcast-or-be-the-backlash-of-somebody-s-lack-of-love/) [Sara Bareilles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-bareilles/) > [If an adversary didn't target our power plants but they did target the core routers, the backbones that tie our internet connections together, entire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/if-an-adversary-didn-t-target-our-power-plants-but-they-did-target/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [Just days after Mitt Romney suggested he might run for president, there's been a backlash. The backlash is led by Jeb Bush, Mike Huckabee,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conan-o-brien/just-days-after-mitt-romney-suggested-he-might-run-for-president/) [Conan O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conan-o-brien/) > [Israel must never be expected to jeopardize her security: if she was ever foolish enough to do so, and then suffered for it, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/israel-must-never-be-expected-to-jeopardize-her-security-if-she-was/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [In specific terms I don't think I could make any suggestions, but in general terms I believe that it is because Canadians have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-trudeau/in-specific-terms-i-don-t-think-i-could-make-any-suggestions-but-in/) [Pierre Trudeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-trudeau/) > [God save the Queen and a fascist regime … a flabby toothless fascism, to be sure. Never go too far in any direction, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/god-save-the-queen-and-a-fascist-regime-a-flabby-toothless-fascism-to/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [Part of the challenge of the Barack Obama campaign was to try to neutralize that white backlash, and of course, he was masterful in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/part-of-the-challenge-of-the-barack-obama-campaign-was-to-try-to/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [There's a backlash against womyn that's really bad right now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-acker/there-s-a-backlash-against-womyn-that-s-really-bad-right-now/) [Kathy Acker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-acker/) > [Of course there's a backlash. Of course. Look, half the country voted for Donald Trump. But I think one of the things that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-che/of-course-there-s-a-backlash-of-course-look-half-the-country-voted/) [Michael Che](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-che/) > [I get so much backlash in Hollywood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-nash/i-get-so-much-backlash-in-hollywood/) [Jason Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-nash/) > [Every time a militant Islamist terrorist shoots somebody up, what does Barack Obama do and the Democrats? They come out and they demand that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/every-time-a-militant-islamist-terrorist-shoots-somebody-up-what-does/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [“We seem to be in a continuing feedback loop of repeating a past that our country has yet to address. Our history is one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/we-seem-to-be-in-a-continuing-feedback-loop-of-repeating-a-past-that/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) [Browse all 161 Backlash quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/backlash/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It's important to teach students about the reality of the system, that it is in fact the case that they are being targeted unfairly, that the rules have been set up in a way that authorize unfair treatment of them, and how difficult it is to challenge these laws in the courts. We need to teach them how our politics have changed in recent years, how there has been, in fact, a backlash. 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